Talking Stick Festival 2022 celebrates First Nations talent in performing arts
The 21st annual event marks National Indigenous History Month with diverse cultural programming ranging from film to visual arts
Talking Stick Festival/sacred skin.
Full Circle: First Nations Performance presents the 21st annual Talking Stick Festival at various venues from June 12 to July 3
FULL CIRCLE: FIRST Nations Performance has announced that the 21st annual Talking Stick Festival will take place from June 12 to July 3—launching to align with National Indigenous History Month—on the traditional, unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples in present-day Vancouver.
With a blend of self-produced events and co-presentations, the fest has several noteworthy partners this year, including the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Queer Arts Festival, Music BC, Urban Ink Productions, Western Gold Theatre, V’ni Dansi, and more. The programming features First Nations talent in film, theatre, visual arts, music, dance, and other genres.
This year’s theme is “Come Together”, which, in the three most prominently spoken languages of this land translates as: Ḵxwúsem (Squamish), m̓ i q̓ əq̓ aʔt ct (Musqueam), and Qápqúthut (Tsleil-Waututh).
“Our people gather from all four directions to share stories and travel across our ancestral lands,” Full Circle shares in a release. “In our creative expression, the eagles circle over the travelers, blessing them with the courage, wisdom, inspiration and strength to persevere across any terrain they encounter. There is symbolic meaning behind the elements that inspired this year’s theme.” Further explanation can be found on the Full Circle website.
Talking Stick Festival has a 21-year history of gathering thousands of Indigenous and non-Indigenous attendees alike. “This year, we are happy to be fully integrated in the performing arts community leveraging local partnerships to provide more opportunities for our Indigenous artists to work alongside and be a part of local Indigenous and non-Indigenous productions” says Full Circle founder and artistic director Margo Kane (Cree/Saulteaux Métis) in a release.
Here are just some of the 2022 festival highlights.
Let’s Hear it! Live Uplifting Indigenous Artists (June 25) is a four-part live concert series spotlighting new and emerging talent from diverse communities around B.C, with Eros Taylor, Caitlin Goulet and Eagle Ex Machina, hosted by JB The First Lady.
Indigenous Summer Stage is a free outdoor showcase featuring several genres and nations, features Elaine Bomberry, Murray Porter, Tsatsu Stalqayu (Coastal Wolfpack), and Zach Saunders (June 24).
Murray Porter.
Sacred skin is a visual arts exhibition of Indigenous and Inuit tattooing by artists Audie Murray, Dion Kaszas, GiG - K’aajuu G’aaya, Holly Mititquq Nordlum, Nahaan, Nakkita Trimble, and Nicole Neidhardt (June 13 to 30).
The Downtown Eastside Powwow Honoring the Children is on June 18 from 10 am to 11pm at Oppenheimer Park. This year marks the 12th anniversary of DTES Powwow, a day of healing, community, and ceremony.
Other events support local arts organizations through marketing and the curation of Indigenous talent. In partnership with Coastal Jazz & Blues Society, for instance, Full Circle presents Indigenous artists at the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival, including DJ KoaKeA, Old Soul Rebel, JB The First Lady, Francis Baptiste, DJ Kookum, Handsome Tiger, DJ O Show, DJ Paisley Eva and Sister Says (June 24 and 25; July 1 to 3).
Then there’s the screening Urban Ink’s Stories That Transform Us, a documentary by Corey Payette (June 12), and the presentation of V’ni Dansi’s La Mitchin di Mitchif. Led by artistic director Yvonne Chartrand, La Mitchin di Mitchif dedicated to sharing the stories and culture of the Mitchif (Métis), through both traditional and contemporary dance; the new contemporary dance work was created through an international collaboration with Santa Fe’s Dancing Earth (June 19 to 21).
There’s much more.
Many of the events are free, while some charge a nominal ticket price of $10 per person at the door. See Full Circle for full details.
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